


Case Studies on Supposed Royalty

by SilentWaves



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Akabane Karma is a Little Shit, Bitterness, Implied Relationship, Karma become friends with them in the end, Listen We Need a Fic For Karma Bonding With the Big Five, M/M, Pre-Relationship, The Big Five-centric, bit of bashing but it's for plot reasons, except for asano... he starts dating asano, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22466167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentWaves/pseuds/SilentWaves
Summary: Karma doesn't understand why Asano Gakushuu has friends. Much less why they care for each other so much.(Basically, the fic where I look at the friendships between Gakushuu and the other Big Five people. Includes a bit of Karashuu because I'm weak)
Relationships: Akabane Karma & Asano Gakushuu, Akabane Karma & The Big Five, Akabane Karma/Asano Gakushuu
Comments: 18
Kudos: 243





	Case Studies on Supposed Royalty

**Author's Note:**

> I was curious as to why Gakushuu would want to hang around the Big Five, and I realized that Karma might wonder about that too.
> 
> Thus, this fic.

The best way to win a battle is to appear as though you weren’t even trying.

This was the mantra that Karma lived by, demolishing the hours of hard work that others put into exams or education while Karma breezed by to an easy top rank. 

It wasn’t until the last year of junior high when that all changed. Years later, Karma would look back on his foolish younger self and marvel at the impossible arrogance that he used to hold. Don’t make any mistake, because Karma’s still holding top ranks and high marks, but he’s quickly realized that hard work beats out natural talent any day.

He first realized this after the crushing mid-term exam defeat, and he began to investigate.

Karma is incredibly smart, because he knows that understanding the problem is all that’s needed to solve it. At least, that’s what he used to think. But it was undeniably true that, had the questions been something Karma previously reviewed, he would have scored better during the test.

It’s almost as if studying actually got you results. 

By contrast, Karma always saw the chairman’s son as an empty-headed academic, learning only information for the sake of knowing enough to place first in the school rankings. He was a carbon copy of his father, and god knows Earth didn’t need two Asano Gakuhous.

This sentiment only grew, especially as Karma heard the rumours about Asano’s Class-A cafe during the school festival. 

What the hell did anyone need to be good at so many things for? It’s obvious that Asano Gakushuu wasn’t a natural talent at it, because anyone could see the amount of time he puts into being number one at everything. The heavy bags under his eyes are clear evidence. 

Something like that, Karma decided, was not worth his time. He didn’t need to be good at singing or playing guitar or soccer or fluently speaking 10 languages to impress people. He could do that just fine with his fists and his brain. 

Sure, Koro-Sensei had taught him the lesson about being too reliant on natural talent, but he didn’t really _learn_ until he experiences defeat to a hard worker.

It was humiliating.

The most humiliating moment of his entire life, probably, and up on the list with some of the worst days of his life (including but not limited to: the day his teacher betrayed him, the day he realized his parents don’t love him, and the day he decided that he wasn’t going to put any unnecessary energy into relationships that wouldn’t last). 

It was the day he had to abandon all that he’s ever known, and start paving a path from scratch. It was the day that made him learn how to study effectively, managing his time to allow for the extra hours that he needed to put in. It was the day that he could no longer brag about his intellect to his peers, because _how could he_?

And it was all Asano Gakushuu’s fault.

Well, not really. It isn’t. Karma knows this, but it doesn’t stop him from teasing Gakushuu about how he planned on getting first overall in the final exams, and it doesn’t stop him from constantly bringing up those lost 3 points as much as possible afterwards.

Because that was a victory. That was the day when Karma didn’t rely on his instinct and naturally adept problem solving skills. That was an exam when he could look at a question and confidently think to himself ‘hey, I’ve studied this before’ before perfectly solving it.

That was a day that Karma would never forget, and Asano didn’t either. And it’s exactly the reason why the two went into high school guns ablaze.

What Karma didn’t expect was for the hardest workers he’s ever met to be so… ordinary. 

The Big Five weren’t all that impressive, the other Class A students were never any competition to begin with, and even the material they learned in first year high school wasn’t all that difficult.

In short, high school is a bit of a disappointment. 

Karma didn’t know what he was expecting. Now that he was in the same class as Asano, they would, what? Become famous school-wide for their rivalry? Discuss all the problems with today’s society while practicing their English? Integrate Karma so naturally into The Big Five that it becomes The Big Six?

Well, yes. That was exactly what Karma was expecting. 

What he _wasn’t_ expecting was for The Big Five (excluding Asano) to just be regular students who happened to hang around the 'king' of the school. He wasn’t expecting them to be so… simple. So predictable. He should have expected it, looking back, but he figured that the devil’s spawn himself would only surround himself with the cream of the crop, and the non-Asano Big Five members just didn’t seem to fit into that mold.

* * *

**Exhibit A: Araki Teppei**

Araki Teppei was the member of The Big Five that specializes in Social Studies. And Karma has no idea why.

Sure, he studies and is good at retaining information (probably because he needs a good memory in order to do all that blackmailing he does, being the son of a chief reporter and all), but what’s so _special_ about him? 

Propaganda? Advertising? 3-E bashing? What was Asano’s purpose for bringing Araki into their exclusive little group? 

In order to find out, Karma began visiting the broadcasting club.

Obviously, he refuses to be seen, because what kind of loser would be caught dead at a club that he’s not even a part of? He sneaks in early in the morning, and plants his phone (hooked up to a portable charger) at a convenient spot in an old closet. He records a video (which is, well, mostly audio, but Karma can work with that), and begins listening.

It’s all mundane. 

2 hours of footage, and not a single thing about Araki stands out to him. He’s completely normal, with just a bit of an unearned arrogant attitude. Why is that? Probably because everyone knows him as ‘one of The Big Five’, but Karma doesn’t see what about him puts Araki on the same level as Asano. 

It was two completely different cases. Asano was arrogant and cocksure because he _earned_ the right to be arrogant and cocksure. He doesn’t boast about his grades unless he can be assured that he’ll maintain that level of performance. He doesn’t look down on 3-E for being stupid because Karma's pretty sure Asano thinks _everyone_ is stupid, yet doesn’t bother addressing it because it would be a waste of his time.

Whereas Araki took the time to be the announcer during the competitions between 3-E and Class A, just in hopes of being able to freely bash us ‘lowly, no-good delinquents’ (not that Karma denies that he’s a delinquent, it’s just that that title shouldn’t also be applied to people like Kanzaki or Isogai or Yada). Araki takes the time to glance over the social studies textbooks every now and then, and then relies on the private tutor sessions that Asano gives The Big Five to make up for those gaps in understanding.

Karma could see this difference in ability clear as day after only one year of competing against him. So why couldn’t anyone else?

“Hey Akabane,” Araki comes up to him one day in class.

“What?” Karma looks up from his game, “And just Karma is fine.”

“Ok Karma, we were just wondering if you want to come to Asano’s soccer match today? You seem… lonely, and if you came to our high school for the sake of following Asano, then you may as well take the time to interact with him a little.”

Karma grips his phone a bit harder, a bit annoyed that people thought he was lonely, “What’s the point of coming to a soccer match where Asano is playing? It’s obvious who’s going to win.”

“Was that a compliment I heard just now?” Asano approaches Karma’s desk. “Didn’t know someone like you was capable of saying kind words.”

“Barely. I just meant that this ‘soccer match’ is probably more of an ‘Asano’s opportunity to show off’, because it probably is,” Karma grins almost sheepishly, because it's true that Karma has never said anything kind to Asano (at least not outloud). Oops. 

Asano snorts, which surprises Karma a bit because he didn’t think the pristine Asano bloodline would be capable of such peasant-like behaviour, “Not that you’re wrong, Karma, but you’re wrong. I’m playing against opponents stronger than I am, so that I can polish my own skills.”

“That’s new. Not aiming for first place anymore, Mr. Perfect?”

“Not at all. I learned a lot from your class and your methods last year. I reckon if competing against strong foes in academics makes my own self stronger, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for any other field of study.”

“Well then sure, I’d love to come see you lose. When’s the match?”

“4pm today at Field B in Yoshinori park,” Araki answers. “Make sure to bring a jacket, the weather forecast says it’s going to get pretty windy around then.”

“Sure.”

Usually, if Karma wanted to entertain himself, it wouldn’t be done by going to soccer matches. It would be done by calling his 3-E friends, or watching anime, or playing video games. It would _not_ be spent with the stuck-up snob that is Asano Gakushuu, nor with his brainless lackeys. 

And Asano wasn’t even doing anything that he would have considered ‘productive’. 

He wasn’t home playing mind games with the ex-chairman, he wasn’t losing sleep to study for hours on end. He wasn’t even training for his other areas of expertise (music, etc.) in private where he’s free to make as many mistakes as he needed in order to improve. 

But here, on the soccer field where Asano and some other Class A soccer team students were playing against a small team from the nationwide J2 league, Asano made _a lot_ of mistakes.

This isn’t surprising to Karma, because despite popular belief, Asano was definitely a human, and Karma was simply intelligent enough to recognize it. What was surprising, however, was the fact that Asano didn’t seem to mind. 

Sure his mouth was set in a permanent scowl, as though he wasn’t expecting to be challenged this much, but his eyes were alight with passion. It became clear to Karma then that Asano could actually feel joy while doing something, even if he was (very clearly) losing at it. 

Araki was the announcer for the game, and Karma couldn’t help but feel annoyed. Did this man ever stop talking? Did he have to follow Asano around wherever he went? Did he really have to cheer so loudly whenever Asano scored--

 _Oh_.

And Karma realizes that maybe, _just maybe_ , Asano didn’t keep Araki around because he felt sorry for him, or because he couldn’t be bothered to get rid of him, but instead because Araki was one of the most supportive people in Asano’s life.

It was no secret that the elder Asano wasn’t the image of a perfect father. It was also quite obvious that the younger Asano felt hurt by this, despite his efforts to hide it. 

It was almost too easy to guess that Asano would want a friend who would unconditionally support his own endeavors by helping him do menial chores (such as blackmail or information gathering or marketing ‘the greatness of Asano Gakushuu’ to the public of Kunugigaoka) while Asano focused on his studies.

Maybe there wasn’t anything for Asano to gain from Araki… other than moral support.

And in return, Asano helped Araki study to become top student material.

* * *

**Exhibit B: Koyama Natsuhiko**

So Karma might be wrong about Araki. Whatever. Past performance is not an indicator of future results, and whatnot… but who would want Koyama hanging around all the time?

Koyama Natsuhiko, the supposed ‘science ace’ of The Big Five.

‘Or,’ Karma thinks. ‘The rote memorization ace would be a better suited title.’

Really, anyone who’s had to be in the same room with Koyama would agree that he’s not the easiest person to be around. 

Not that Koyama was annoying, he was just… enthusiastic. _Very_ enthusiastic. 

While Karma was in junior high, he thought that maybe Koyama just liked showing off his good memory, and the way he’s able to recall page and paragraph of any information they get. But Karma’s pretty sure he’s never once thought for himself… until he got to be in the same class as him.

Okuda’s words from the final exams must have struck a chord in Koyama. Before, he’d go around bragging about how he’s got the textbook down from cover to cover, and can recite any information at will. Now, he goes around telling people about the experiments that he’s trying to do, and if anyone would want to go with him. 

The teachers quickly put a restriction on the science rooms after Koyama blew up a lab bench. Students could only do non-school related experiments if a teacher or a student council member was present.

This was a bad idea, as Koyama just happened to be acquainted (Karma refuses to call them ‘friends’, because he’s pretty sure Asano of all people wouldn’t want to be that close with Koyama) with the newest member of Kunugigaoka High’s student council. 

And if Karma’s eyes inexplicably twitched, or if his fists slightly tightened when Koyama drags Asano away from his studies every half-hour, well, it’s not like there’s many people around Karma to notice anyways. 

It was another week before progress on the Koyama case developed. Karma was in the library with Asano, taking a break from studying, when the subject of memory skills came up.

“Well yeah, not all of us can have a photographic memory like your dad or Koyama,” Karma says.

“Well, that’s true,” Asano pauses to think. “But it’s not like we need it, right? I mean, the scientific backing for photographic memories is dodgy at best, but if the brain was wired to do anything, it would be to learn.”

“But then if there’s no way to just remember something from a single glance, who would spend that much time just memorizing details?” Karma asks. “I know the centip-er, the former chairman had his whole ‘all-knowing deity’ facade, so him I understand. But why does Koyama know the whole Chemistry textbook front and back?”

“Koyama’s a bit, well, a bit special like that. He finds something to devote himself to, and he devotes his all into it,” Asano shrugs. “When we first started junior high, he wanted to memorize the whole English dictionary, but then Seo wanted to be the English specialist, so Koyama opted for science instead.”

Huh. That’s interesting. Karma could picture the five of them going into junior high. It would have probably been after the first test, and they probably scored ranks 1 through 5 overall. Asano probably greeted them, in that cold way of his, and probably said something along the lines of ‘we are the best in this school, and nobody will ever surpass us’, ‘Join my legion of terror and ye shall be rewarded with protection from my father’ etc. etc. 

They would argue that they should all stand out in some way, and then pick one of the five main courses to specialize in. Asano would, of course, claim that he is to be first place in all of the subjects, but the others can fight for second. 

“Right, so I guess then there’s just a difference in how well our brain stores information,” Karma smiles at Asano. “Maybe we can do a study on that.”

Asano laughs, “if we can solve that, we _would_ get a lot of money. But any brain studies only stay relevant for… oh, 10, 20 years. I’d rather not turn out as one of the losers of history.”

“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, Asano-san!” Koyama approaches them, probably looking for Asano so that they can go back to the lab. “Those guys aren’t ‘losers’ by any means! They pave the path for new talent to follow! As tech grows, so do we as a society, and the scientific knowledge that we have merely reflects that!”

Asano smirks, “You could say the same for Math too. But Math at least is pretty cut and dry, don’t you think?”

“Oh sure if you add one and one you get two…” Koyama points his finger at Asano as though he was objecting in court. “But there’s still so many mysteries! Tell me, oh so-called-genius Asano-kun! How does one divide by zero? How does one find the square root of a negative? What do you have to say to _that_ , hmm?”

“Alright, sure there are a few gaps in our knowledge, but imaginary numbers have been used to solve actual problems, and mathematicians have found a way to graph lines that avoid reaching undefined numbers” Asano’s smirk grows wider. “But what do you have to say for the _entire_ field of sociology? Any person can just _look_ at the world around them and figure it out. Nobody should spend thousands of dollars to get a degree for that!”

Koyama stutters. “You can’t determine how important a field of study is! Who knows, it might turn out to become huge in the next decade if something revolutionary happens!”

“That’s putting faith in very low chances.”

“Well at least we have hope for improvement. What do mathematicians do anyways, sit around and calculate the digits of pi all day?”

Karma’s eyes dart back and forth, following the two acquaintances as they exchange friendly barbs. He’s very still, because he would surely be noticed if he attempted to leave, and he didn’t know how to join in, or even if he wanted to.

“Well at least they’re operating on certainty, and are helping to progress society. What do zoologists do, stare at animals all day?”

“Well… yeah! Ok, alright, I won’t stand up for _all_ sciences, but you have to admit that the big three are important! Physics, chemistry, and biology are the pillars that support our modern civilization!”

“Right… in 3500 B.C. maybe. And doesn’t zoology fall under biology?”

“Well, uh- Karma!” Koyama turns around. “What do you think? Math of science? Which is more important!?”

“Well…“ Karma didn’t know what to do. He agreed that math was an important foundation in everything that was used to day, but also that science was the force that allowed math to _be applied_ , and without it, they’d just have a bunch of equations and no use for them. He voiced this sentiment.

“Ha!” Koyama says. “He’s basically agreeing with me, you know? I win!” 

“ _As if_ ,” Asano snorts. “The only thing he said was that math serves as a foundation for everything, and if chemistry or physics was included, well, that would just be a small part of it! Business employs the use of rates of change and calculus as well, you know!”

Karma stares at his two warring classmates, unsure if he just missed this (almost childish?) behaviour from them last year, or if this was a new development.

No, this was definitely a new development. Last year, nobody would have dared to defy the Asano bloodline, father or son, and The Big Five were not exceptions to that rule. But then… why did Asano look so happy? Why was he smiling as though having such a spirited structureless debate brought more joy to his face than the entirety of last year? 

“Speaking of… Karma! We’re headed to the third floor lab to try and improve the efficiency of ammonia production, do you wanna come?” Koyama interrupts Karma’s train of thought. 

“Well it’s not like I have anything better to do… you know… like study?” Karma responds, realizing too late that Koyama didn’t pay enough attention to his tone to recognize the sarcasm.

They go into the lab, and Karma feels like he got dragged into something. But the lab was surprisingly fun. Obviously, even with the combined brain power of the three of them, they couldn’t come up with a way to make ammonia efficient enough to serve as a renewable energy source, but the first time something blew up, they just laughed and laughed and laughed.

The next chemistry test, all three of them answered their essay section with a response about ammonia production and improving efficiency in chemical reactions… and they all got a perfect score.

* * *

**Exhibit C: Sakakibara Ren**

Alright. First strike is simply a mistake, second strike is pretty embarrassing. Karma was not about to set up for a third.

It doesn’t matter how obnoxious he thinks Sakakibara or Seo are, and it doesn’t even matter the bad history between Seo and Maehara last year. It was peacefully (and humorously) resolved anyways, and it wasn’t as though The Big Five couldn’t learn lessons from past failures (as evidenced by Exhibit B).

Honestly, this whole ‘finding out why Asano likes these losers’ thing was getting pretty ridiculous. Karma didn’t hasn't allowed himself enough time to study for five quizzes and one unit test. He’s even a chapter behind in the assigned English reading (but he obviously catches up fast enough). It wasn’t enough to put him behind his classmates, since they no longer have the elder Asano dictating what should be taught, but it was enough to make the younger Asano shoot a few questioning stares his way before homeroom for the past few days. 

So Karma devotes himself to his studies again, not allowing himself to be anything other than better than Asano Gakushuu. Araki, as loud and as talkative as he is, had a point: Karma came into this school to chase Asano, so he may as well have something to show for it. 

And _yes_ , Karma said that he would stop this pointless nonsense, but it’s really not his fault that Sakakibara Ren is _everywhere_.

He was around every corner in the hallways, he was at every table in the cafeteria, he was even presenting his poems on the announcements for fuck’s sake! Karma just couldn’t shake this guy. 

But of course, Karma is a master of self control, and decides that he wouldn’t even bother with someone like Sakakibara. It would be easy, like ignoring Okajima or laughing at Terasaka. Easy.

(That being said, the corners of his notebooks are still being filled with theories and questions about the Japanese specialist).

It wasn’t until the seventh of November that Karma finally snapped. Not that it was a special day or anything, at least not to Karma. 

But it was the birthday of some girl in their class, and everything was just so nice and peaceful, and Asano had asked Karma about the game he was playing, and Karma was about to taunt him about how he’s never done nonograms before? And it would have surely been a well-placed taunt because then he can show Asano how to do them and they can compete to see who can solve them the fastest and-

Then Sakakibara comes in.

And he doesn’t just come in, he’s _striding_ , as if time would stop for him and his stupidly big bouquet of flowers. He shoots the girl (Hayashida Rumiko, Karma thinks) a blinding smile and Hayashida nearly faints. 

He starts saying this poem about something with her hair or her eyes or something, and Karma turns around to see the other Big Five members because _surely_ they wouldn’t allow Sakakibara to embarrass himself like this? At least Asano must be thinking how perhaps this time might be the one time that Sakakibara has pushed it too far? 

Karma quickly thinks back to his notes (‘in summary, Ren Sakakibara is a flirt, he lives and breathes off the attention he gets from everyone else’), and realizes that his verdict was not, in fact, too vague and generalizing, but actually right on the dot. 

But then he sees that Asano’s taking a sip from his coffee mug in a horrible attempt to conceal a smile. The others had similarly turned away in discussion under the pretense of not paying attention to Sakakibara. 

So here’s the question, why?

Karma’s been asking that of himself when he realized the amount of time he’s been devoting to his classmates, and he realized that it was because it seemed out of character for the unapproachable ‘Great Leader’ of the Kunugigaoka student body to have surrounded himself with peers that are not the same level (academic or otherwise) as he. 

It wasn’t unbelievable to think that maybe Asano would want a cheerleader like Araki, or an enthusiastic nerd like Koyama for encouragement, but _why_ Sakakibara or Seo?

This puzzles him to no end, and he realizes that only one person can help him with his dilemma: Kayano Kaede. 

Better known as child actress Mase Haruna/Yukimura Akari, Kaede was one of the best judges of character that Karma’s ever met, and she’s sure to have an idea as to why The Big Five is The Big Five, and not something ridiculous like Asano & His Minions… or something. 

So they agree to meet up the next weekend. 

“Karma! How’s it going? Sick of winning yet?” Kayano’s voice gently carries over the cafe as she enters.

“Not just yet. What about you, tired of being famous yet?” Karma turns to see a few onlookers who start whispering to their neighbours, likely recognizing Kayano from her new show. 

Kayano laughs. “If I was, I wouldn’t have taken up acting again.”

She picks up the tea that Karma bought for her, and takes a few careful sips before realising it’s already gone cold. 

“Oh yeah, sorry I’m a bit late, filming went a bit late because _some_ of my coworkers don’t know how to take instructions, apparently,” Kayano grimaces. “And trust me, this issue of yours is of the utmost importance, so you can be assured that I will do whatever I can to help you solve it.”

“Well now,” Karma narrows his eyes, noting the sarcasm in her tone. “This is a genuine issue here! I know you’ve only known Asano for a year, but it was a pretty big year, you know! _Annnnnd_ I actually have to spend the next two-and-a-half years with The Big Five if I want to stay at Kunugigaoka to compete with him.”

“Sure, whatever you say,” Kayano giggles, taking a bite of her cake. “So did you take notes? Bring evidence? Maybe even programmed an AI to act exactly like them?”

Karma takes out his notebook, ignoring Kayano’s joke (but the AI does sound like a good idea… Karma might have to look into that later), “Here’s all my notes on Sakakibara Ren. He’s the one I’m having problems with.”

Kayano starts flipping through, “What about that guy… um… what’s his name. Ugly tough guy who took laxatives?”

“Seo Tomoya.”

“Yeah him. If you’re going to be looking into redeemable traits from the four/five, you should probably look into him first,” Kayano thinks for a bit. “Yeah, he’s definitely the worst one.”

“... I have a hard enough time with people like Araki and Sakakibara. Trying to figure out why Asano keeps Seo around would give me a migraine.”

“Fair.”

They’re quiet for a bit, with only the occasional page turning or tea/coffee sipping to fill in the silence.

“But don’t you think you’re maybe…” Kayano trails off, realizing that this was _Karma_ she was talking to, and even though they’re friends now, she’s still very aware of how potentially dangerous Karma could be, and doesn’t quite want to risk angering him.

“What?” Karma asks. “I’m maybe what?”

“Well, um… it’s just that, you see, I’ve been talking with Nagisa and Nakamura recently, and…“

“And?”

“We think that maybe you’re, just a bit, maybe, kind of obsessing over this whole Big Five thing?” Kayano doesn’t wince, because she’s an actress, but goddamn, is she scared, and discretely sniffs the air for hidden chilli peppers. 

“Obsessed?” Karma thinks about this for a bit, frowning. “Well, no. I mean… maybe a little, but I have a good reason!”

“That sounds like something a guilty person would say,” Kayano smiles, relieved that Karma didn’t attack her. Not that she wouldn't have been unable to defend herself, nor would Karma treat it as a serious fight, but there’s no denying that it would certainly cause some unfavourable rumours.

“No no, listen to me.” Karma starts pulling at the ends of his hair, thinking. Kayano hides a smile, because she’s pretty sure he doesn’t know about his little tics, but they actually make him seem his age. “The reason is… a study.”

“A study?”

“A study.” Karma takes a sip of his coffee, and opens to a certain page in his notebook. “Just look at all this data I’ve collected on the supposed ‘greatest students’ of Kunugigaoka. You know, Kayano, in this new age of technology, information-gathering is one of the best skills one can possess. And I just happen to be training myself in it.”

Kayano raises an eyebrow, saying her attack, “And you think that’s all it is? It’s not because you need to give yourself an excuse to stare at Asano-san all day?”

Karma’s eyes widen in shock, then he quickly recomposes himself. Defense. “What do you mean by that? Anyways, I’m studying the people around him, not Asano himself. Even if it was an excuse, which it isn’t, how would that help?”

Kayano smiles. Attack. “Think about it this way, Karma, does this situation sound familiar? You’re following your crush into high school because you admire how hard he fought last year.”

Karma interrupts. Evade. “I followed Asano into Kunugigaoka because I respect his strengths. Nothing about that indicates that I like him.”

Non-stop barrage. “Oh but that’s not the good part! Not only did I never mention anything anything about it being Asano-”

“-I can infer from context-”

“-but also there’s the matter of the tensions that arose during the end of last year! What can Asano-san say about that year when he knows you’ve lost someone important to you? And how do you approach him when he’s constantly surrounded by his four bodyguards?”

“That’s _absolutely_ not the case here, because we’ve been making bets. If he wins, he gets information about 3-E, and if I win, I get blackmail material! There’s no way Asano is capable of being sensible! And I’ve gotten over Koro-sensei’s death anyways!” Karma’s voice catches when he says Koro-sensei’s name, and he curses his emotions for it. 

Kayano ignores the point about Koro-sensei, because she’s not a monster anymore and they all miss him, but that’s not the point right now. Right now, her good friend Karma was denying himself the great joy of highschool romance because he’s too intimidated by his crush’s friends, not that he would admit to it. 

“Well then, if there’s nothing stopping you from conversing so freely,” Kayano smirks. Checkmate. “Why haven’t you asked him out yet?”

“How do you know I haven’t?” 

“Because the Karma I know would have packed his bags and left the country if he got rejected, and you wouldn’t have called me over for this matter if you two were already together.”

‘Damn,’ though Karma. He may be intellectually smarter than Kayano, but she was better at coming up with rebuttals on the spot. This may be his loss, but at the very least, he’s not going to give Kayano an easy victory.

“But you’ve yet to provide the evidence that I like him. What about that, hmm?” Karma challenges.

“Easy,” Kayano holds up her hands and begins counting down on her fingers. “You’re always staring at him, you followed him into highschool, somehow he manages to come up whenever you’re on the group call, I’m pretty sure violet is your favourite colour now, and for god’s sake, you’ve filled out at least 20 pages of your notebook with notes on just _one_ of his friends!”

“Ok, but, you don’t know all the facts,” Karma counters. “I’m staring at him because he’s pretty, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I like him in that way.”

“Fair, but you don’t stare at me, and I’m pretty,” Kayano jokes.

Karma deadpans, “you literally know I’m gay. Anyways, I already told you that I followed him into highschool because I respect his strength, and he probably comes up a lot on our group calls because he’s my classmate and you guys wanna know how he’s doing.”

“But you’re always the one to bring him up.”

Did he? Kayano may be bluffing to get a confession out of Karma, but he’s not going to fall for it. 

“There’s no way you’d remember that information, and even if it’s true, it’s because we’re, again, classmates. I see him every day. And as for my favourite colour… What’s wrong with me liking violet?”

That was a weak response, Karma knows. Kayano, of course, takes the opportunity to strike. She does so with a single, practiced, knowing smile. 

Karma tries another trick. Subvert the interrogator’s attention. “Hold on a second, didn’t you come here to help me figure out what’s up with Sakakibara? How’d the subject turn from him to my crush on Asano? I mean, my _supposed_ crush on Asano?”

“Honestly, if you were less of an introvert, I’m sure you would have figured it out already,” Kayano laughs. “It’s obvious that Asano uses Sakakibara’s charisma as reference for when he performs those speeches.”

“You know about those?”

“They make the news sometimes, you know. ‘High School Student Delivers Powerful and Thought-Provoking Speech At Kunugigaoka’ or something. Don’t worry, I know you get bored reading the news.”

“Shut up, the characters are just too small in the papers” Karma mutters, because he definitely does not need glasses and he’s sure that more people would read the news if they increase the font size.

“Anyways, I have to get back to filming soon. Lunch break is almost over. This was fun though! We’ve got to catch up again sometime!”

“Ugh… sure. But maybe we should bring Nagisa around as a buffer.”

“Hmm, if you want to try competing against us when we team up on you, sure!” 

Kayano laughs while leaving the cafe, leaving Karma with some half-eaten pastries and a growing doubt about this investigation.

* * *

**Exhibit D: Seo Tomoya**

Karma is not a quitter, but he is so _goddamn_ ready to give up on this case.

What the hell is there to like about Seo? Karma could not say, because despite following him around for the past month (he’s spending time at the library for fuck’s sake! Why study out in the open in a noisy environment when he could be at home, flipping through a textbook while sipping hot cocoa?), he has found no evidence.

It’s true, Karma realizes, that Kayano may have had a few correct points when talking about the whole “investigation” situation, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to give up halfway through. 

But goddamn, why Seo?

He stopped trying to convince himself that it was merely his own biases that was making Seo look bad, because that was evidently not the case (see proof: the past year and a half). He had his stint with one of Maehara’s girlfriends in their last year of Junior High, and didn’t even bother learning from the experience. 

Not only that, but the teachers were too scared to reprimand him for whatever fights he’s started because Seo is close with Asano (at least the ex-chairman prevented that at Kunugigaoka Junior). Seo’s grades are only good in English (but at least he puts enough effort to not be totally humiliating in the other subjects), he’s loud and obnoxious (and not even in the endearing way that Koyama is), and he can totally get away with it all because of Asano’s influence.

This, Karma cannot stand. And his patience can only last so long, so he gives up after a month.

* * *

**Exhibit E: Karma Akabane**

Karma is not stupid.

He may have a hard time not looking down at others, and he may just put too much confidence in his innate talents, but he’s also a diligent worker and the best prankster in town. 

The prankster part is irrelevant, but it _has_ made for some memorable moments during otherwise boring lunch breaks. 

Anyways, Karma is not stupid, so he knows that his status within his class has… shifted a bit.

It may be because of how much time he’s been spending with The Big Five, or just how much time he’s been spending studying with Asano, but it’s basically common knowledge among the Kunugigaoka First Years (and also some of the other years) that Karma has become an honorary “Big Five” member.

Of course, this would mean the name would need to be changed, “Big Six” or “Big Five Plus One” or something, but nobody would bother with that.

Really, if Karma was to put this dynamic on paper, it would look something like two planets of equal mass (Asano and Karma) sharing the same orbit. However, Asano’s planet would have four moons (Araki, Koyama, Sakakibara, and Seo), of varying shapes and qualities, and they would all draw attention to the Asano planet. 

This would then cause all the astronomers (the other Kunugigaoka students and teachers) to notice the Asano planet, as magnetic as it is, and yet also firmly acknowledge the Karma planet as one that shares Asano’s orbit. 

So not quite “Big Six” worthy, because Karma refuses to just be a mere moon. He wants to stay a planet, and remain on the same level as Asano. Instead, Karma was pronounced friendship worthy.

It’s true, Karma will admit, that he wasn’t expecting to become friends with Asano. Lifelong rivals? Sure. Enemies ~~with benefits~~? Sure, why not. Even just being classmates would have been more believable to Karma than being _friends_ , because he’s pretty sure that anybody raised by Asano Gakuhou would turn out to either become dictator of a small country or a carbon copy of his father. 

But after this investigation, Karma’s pretty sure that Asano is a “none of the above” option. 

Exhibit A: He keeps Araki around because even someone like Asano needs validation sometimes. This is very definitive evidence that Asano Gakushuu is not, in fact, a robot.

Exhibit B: He doesn’t mind playful debates and overenthusiastic colleagues, which are not traits of a dictator.

Exhibit C: He studies his peers, and respects them all as having something to give. He not only acknowledges his… friends… (Karma will finally admit that The Big Five are, in fact, friends and not just an exclusive Asano fanclub) but he also learns from them.

Exhibit D: In contrast to Exhibit C, Asano Gakushuu is also capable of putting up with _a lot_ of bullshit.

“Are you going to add yourself to that list?” A sly voice interrupts Karma’s train of thought. “Think about it. Exhibit E: Proof that Asano Gakushuu is very capable of coming out on top no matter how tough the opponent.”

“Asano? What are you doing out here?” Karma mentally berates himself, because he underwent assassination training for a year, he shouldn’t be so rusty as to not notice when someone sneaks up on him. “And how did you know what I was thinking?”

Asano laughs, in that slightly diabolical way of his. “Trust me, your assassination skills are not rusty, I’m just very good at softening my steps. And despite what you may think, your face is probably the easiest to read among all the students here.”

“Well,” Karma knows of this weakness, but doesn’t see how it could negatively impact him. He’s brutally honest anyways, so his face may as well reflect his emotions. “That still doesn’t explain how you got the exact letter that I was about to reach.”

“Oh, that? You’re mumbling to yourself. Is it because we’re outside?” 

“Perhaps. Don’t you find it easier to think when you can hear your thoughts out loud?” 

Asano thinks for a second, then nods. “Sure.”

“But that doesn’t explain how you’re able to hear me. I may not have noticed you standing a few feet away, but I’m pretty sure I’d be able to feel you breathing down my neck trying to eavesdrop.”

“You didn’t know?” Asano tucks his hair behind his ear and grins, “Incident when I was young, so I have a hearing aid in my left ear. Pretty useful for eavesdropping if I turn it up a few notches.”

Karma stares, because that’s what he’s been doing for the past few months, and he has yet to notice something as obvious as a hearing aid. But in his defence, it _was_ pretty small.

“Well, it’s also good if I want to tune out noise, I guess,” Asano continues talking, taking Karma’s silence as an invitation to keep blabbing. “But that’s not the point. The point is, why have you been stalking my friends?”

“...I wasn’t stalking,” Karma hastily searches for his mental list of excuses. “It was nothing illegal, nor harmful. I just did a bit of information gathering, that’s all.”

“And I am to believe that it was somehow to get to know _me_ better?” Asano raises an eyebrow, in an infuriatingly similar fashion to Kayano. 

Karma pauses to weigh his pros and cons. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes,” Karma takes a deep breath. “I’ve always thought you’d be just like your father.”

Asano tenses. Karma winces as he realizes he may have struck a nerve.

“But you’re not. Not at all.”

Asano lets out a small huff, whether out of relief or annoyance, Karma couldn’t tell. “If you told me that a year ago, I would have strangled you on the spot.”

“Ha! I’d like to see you try,” Karma smiles. “But just a friendly warning, I’ve got a stash of spices and I’m not afraid to fight dirty.”

Asano laughs. “Continue. What about me made me less like the Chairman?”

“You had friends.”

“I have many friends. There’s Satoshi from 2-B, Seki from 3-A, Takeo from 1-C…”

“Not them. Those are acquaintances. Maybe even lower than that, followers.”

Asano shrugs, “I hesitate to use that term. Acquaintances it is, then.”

Karma begins gesticulating, “But you have _real_ friends. Araki, who supports you in your endeavors, Koyama, who inspires you to learn and not just study, Sakakibara who’s super charismatic and whatever, and Seo. And you repay them by helping them study and keeping them out of trouble.”

Asano thinks for a second, “Well, I never think of them that way, but I suppose you’re not incorrect. And I assume you didn’t say anything positive about Seo because you couldn’t find anything?”

“Then why do you keep him around?”

“I guess we all need a Terasaka Ryoma in our friend groups,”

Karma laughs. “I get it. You don’t look down on him, but you also find his endeavors impossibly funny.”

Asano smiles back. “Exactly. But I don’t see why you had to find all this out to placate your thoughts as to whether I was similar to the Chairman or not.”

“Ex-chairman, actually, in case you forgot,” Karma teases. “But it was because you just totally had a soft spot for them, you know? Just, the way you treated them like you _thought_ they were supposed to be mere tools but you actually saw humans underneath.”

“But they’re not? Tools, that is?”

“That’s my point. Even the Asano from last year would have hesitated to admit that, but you know you’ve also changed this year.”

“Hmm. I suppose that merits a thanks.”

“You’re welcome? Well, anyways, my little ‘investigation’ is totally over now, and you don’t need to worry about it anymore. If you want me to stop bothering The Five, I’ll stop,” Karma then says, a little quieter, “mostly because you would totally sue me and court sounds like a hassle.”

Asano laughs again. “You’re basically one of us now, so don’t even worry about that. But just for future reference, I wouldn’t even bother with court, I’m sure I could get you dumped straight into jail.”

“No you wouldn’t. You can boast all you want, but you’re still human like the rest of us,” Karma jokes. “But, I guess your hearing aid is one step closer to becoming a full robot, huh?”

“Sure. Being a robot would be so much more convenient anyways.”

“That’s true, with the cloud as memory storage, you’d be able to read every textbook out there. Like a nerd.”

“Speaking of nerds, I came out here in the first place because Koyama wanted to do another lab with you. Come with me?” 

Karma flushes a little, and blames it on the summer heat (or whatever ‘summer heat’ was present in the middle of December). “Alright. What kind of shit are we mixing today?”

“It’s a surprise,” and Asano _giggles_ , in a totally non-Asano fashion. That was probably the moment that Karma accepted once and for all that people could change for the better. And one hell of a better it was.

“Also, call me Gakushuu,” Gakushuu turns to Karma. “And we can discuss the benefits of becoming a robot over coffee. Have you been to the new cafe on Suzuran Street yet?”

“Can’t say that I have. Are you paying?”

“I don’t see why I should. If you want to be my equal, you can at least buy your own coffee.”

Karma smiles, feeling like a planet in perfect orbit.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!
> 
> I'm so glad to have made something for the platonic relationship between Asano and the big five that also managed to include Karashuu (sort of) in it. 
> 
> Also, hang tight because I'm planning a super big story for Karashuu that will actually focus on their relationship?? and have plot??? Whaaaat????? Anyways, I'm in the planning stages right now but please check it out when it gets released! I'm really excited for it so far!!


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